Fear of large carnivores owes more to social perception than to their actual abundance

While pumas are widely considered to be majestic animals, in Chilean Patagonia they are also seen as a threat to livestock. Like wolves in Europe, pumas are large predators that attack herds and affect communities whose livelihoods are heavily reliant on animal husbandry. But how much of this negative view reflects a genuine threat? To what extent is it simply a perception held by stockbreeders? A study conducted in the Torres del Paine Biosphere Reserve (Chile), under the leadership of CREAF researcher Esperanza Iranzo, points to an unchanging perception of the puma-livestock conflict among stockbreeders, despite fluctuations in puma numbers. In fact, the study’s results show that although the local puma population has increased in the last decade, the stockbreeders surveyed do not consider the problem the animals pose to have grown. Thus, negativity and discontent towards pumas appear to owe more to a social and cultural perception of large predators than to their actual abundance. The study also highlights dissatisfaction with the way the authorities have managed the conflict and identifies a social divide between wealthier and less affluent farms, with the former beginning to reap the benefits of puma tourism.

“In Chile, like in other countries, carnivores have traditionally been seen in a negative light because they are a threat to livestock,” says Iranzo. “That perception is passed on between generations and communities, even in the absence of first-hand negative experiences,” she continues. She underlines her point by noting that the study found some stockbreeders who make a living from puma tourism to be no less distrustful of the animals.

The study has been published in the journal People and Nature, as part of a special issue that examines relationships between humans and carnivores, and it may be possible to extrapolate its findings to the European context. In addition to CREAF’s Iranzo, the study was carried out by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid, the University of Chile and the conservation organization Panthera

The research combined sociological methods, such as surveys and interviews with stockbreeders, and ecological methods, including studying puma distribution based on track observation and camera trapping, and using the data obtained to create distribution maps.

The main point of sociological interest is the development of tourism centring on puma-watching experiences in and around Torres del Paine National Park since 2014. This has become a source of income for some livestock farms in the area, which offer tours and accommodation for people keen to see and photograph pumas. Despite the apparent shift in the puma’s status, from ‘enemy’ to economic resource, Iranzo remarks that the feline is still regarded as a threat to livestock and the perception that it is a problem has not changed. Furthermore, the researcher explains, puma tourism is generating social inequality: while larger livestock farms are better equipped to financially capitalize on the puma, smaller holdings are often unable to offer tourist services and remain just as dependent on stockbreeding, a situation that could trigger a new socio-ecological conflict.

Another of the study’s findings is that discontent within the stockbreeding sector finds an outlet in the puma issue. “In reality, though, in many cases it might be symptomatic of rejection of the authorities’ proposed solutions to the conflict,” states Iranzo. It is a fact that situations in which humans and wildlife struggle to coexist harmoniously often escalate into conflicts between groups of people with differing interests. Crucially, unlike in many European countries, no compensation is provided for attacks on livestock in Chile. Additionally, the Patagonia region is difficult to access and stockbreeders are compelled to take their own protective measures against attacks. Some, for example, have begun to raise mastiffs alongside their sheep, integrating the dogs into the flock to defend it against predators.

The rather curious case of Torres del Paine is, as Iranzo puts it, “a prime example of how food chains function in nature”. Historically, Patagonia was home to numerous herds of guanacos, camelids whose domestication gave rise to llamas. Pumas preyed on the guanacos, and the two species lived in ecological balance. That balance was shattered in the late 19th century, when European colonists arrived and introduced a new prey species: sheep.

Sheep populations subsequently grew to serve human needs. Local inhabitants heavily hunted the native pumas (to reduce the risk of attacks) and guanacos (to prevent them eating the pasture earmarked for sheep), throwing the region’s trophic relationships out of kilter. Consequently, in 1959, the Chilean authorities declared Torres del Paine a national park and prohibited the hunting of pumas and guanacos within its boundaries. This allowed their populations to recover and expand beyond the protected area, sparking the current social conflict.

Referenced article:

Iranzo, E. C., Ohrens, O., Mata, C., Traba, J., Acebes, P., González, B. A., ... & Malo, J. E. (2025). More pumas (Puma concolor) does not change perceptions: The mismatched response of ranchers to the presence of a top carnivore. People and Nature. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70018